Matching Sentence Endings: IELTS Reading Practice

In this type of question you need to choose the correct ending for each sentence by selecting the ending from a list given. This is not the most common question type in IELTS reading but it does appear in the test and it is worth practising.

This is one of my tough lessons which I’ve written to challenge the higher level students.

Skim read the passage and then read through the sentences with the possible endings. Pay attention to grammar in order to complete each sentence – the sentence must be grammatically correct. The information contained in a correctly completed sentence can be found in the passage.

NASA’s Orion ‘Mars Ship’ set for test flight

A US space capsule that could help get humans to Mars is about to make its maiden flight.Orion will be launched on a Delta rocket out of Cape Canaveral in Florida on a short journey above the Earth to test key technologies. The conical vessel is reminiscent of the Apollo command ships that took men to the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s, but bigger and with cutting-edge systems. Given that this is a first outing, there will be no people aboard.

Nonetheless, the US space agency describes the demonstration as a major event. Nasa has a window in which to launch Orion of about two-and-a-half hours, which began at 07:05 local time (12:05 GMT). The launch preparations had to be stopped shortly before the opening of the window because a boat strayed into the eastern part of the launch range. After that, the countdown had to be held because of strong winds and a technical issue.

Orion is being developed alongside a powerful new rocket that will have its own debut in 2017 or 2018. Together, they will form the core capabilities needed to send humans beyond the International Space Station to destinations such as the Red Planet. For Thursday’s flight, the Delta IV-Heavy rocket – currently the beefiest launcher in the world – is being used as a stand-in. It will send Orion twice around the globe, throwing the ship up to an altitude of almost 6,000km (3,600 miles). This will set up a fast fall back to Earth, with a re-entry speed into the atmosphere close to 30,000km/h (20,000mph) – near what would be expected of a capsule coming back from the Moon. It should give engineers the opportunity to check the performance of Orion’s critical heat shield, which is likely to experience temperatures in excess of 2,000C (4,000F). They will also watch how the parachutes deploy as they gently lower the capsule into Pacific waters off Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula. (Passage fromBBC News)

Questions 1-4

Complete the sentences by selecting the correct ending, A-G (not all letters will be used).

The first ever flight of Orion is aimed to ……

Although the shape of Orion is similar to previous ships, it ………..

A new rocket is also being developed which …………

The rocket which will be used as a replacement will ………….

As temperatures reach extreme levels on re-entry, this maiden flight will ……….

a. send Orion twice around the world.

b. has state of the art technology.

c. test the critical heat shield.

d. check Orion’s performance.

e. test the most important technology.

f. will have its first voyage in a few years.

g. help humans get to Mars

Answers

Click below to reveal the answers.

Answers

e

b

f

a

c

All reading exercises on ieltsliz.com have been written by myself to help you prepare for your IELTS test.

I quickly wrote possible endings, which would grammatically make sense, next to the sentences:

1. a, c, d, e, g
2. b, f
3. b, f
4. a, c, d, e, g
5. a, c, d, e, g

Then, I quickly skimmed the passage and started completing the easiest sentences first. At the same time, I was eliminating words already answered. When I answered 2 with B, I didn’t have to look for 3, because there was only F left, the only possible answer to that.

The last remaining sentence was 4, the most difficult for me, which I failed. This was a very tricky one. It’s ok though because now I am aware of this type of task and it is all thanks to Liz! 🙂

You said you have been practising all day. How much time do you spend analysing your answers? Do you have a LONG list of all the reasons you got an answer right and why you got one wrong. By now, you should have a list many pages long. Practice is only one aspect of preparation. You need to analyse answers. You should also have a LONG list of keywords and paraphrases – have you got that? It’s all about analysing your technique and improving it – spend more time doing that.

The answer can’t be “g” because the sentence would be grammatically incorrect. These types of questions also test your understanding of grammar.
You can have:
A new rocket is also being developed which will help humans get to Mars
or you can have:
A new rocket is also being developed which helps humans get to Mars
but you can’t have
A new rocket is also being developed which help humans get to Mars

Hi Liz, thanks for your amazing and helpful efforts. I’m concerned about the amount of time I spend trying to answer the questions in the reading lessons. please what’s the maximum time you suggest I spend on each lesson questions as a way of practice for the real IELTS test. Thanks and God bless.

hello Liz, thanks for your help. i dont know what would have become of me if i had been totally dwelling on books like, Barrons ielts and/or other British council ielts books/CDs. They help though, like 5%.

Because although it does take humans to Mars, it is not actually the aim of the flight. The aim is to test key technology. The first ever flight is the maiden voyage and in this case, the first flight will not actually go to Mars, it is going to go round the Earth just to test it. Try not to match words, aim for meaning.

Thanks again Liz, I am sure you will get to see more of my comments till take the exam :-). I got 4/5 in this, got the first answer as G instead of (e), I had overlooked the phrase ” Key technologies”. I hope the more practice will help me to oversome this..

For this type of question, the answers come in order. This means you need to find the answer to number 5 after the answer for number 4. It will come lower in the reading passage. You can’t find the answer to number 5 at the start of the passage.

I don’t want you to feel this is a back and forth. But answer C and D are part of the same sentence. So I don’t understand why you say one is lower and the other higher up. C and D both make up the same sentence. I’m puzzled. Please help

Hi Liz,
Thank you so much for a such a detailed blog. It is very helpful.
I wish to know if we can use American spellings e.g. using ‘categorize’ instead of ‘categorise’. (Spell checker on my computer is showing a mistake)
Thanks

Thanks alot for explaining every point but my question is :is it possible to have two answers or three in the same paragraph. I think the main key to deal with most
if not all the question types is PARAPHRASING .am I right?

The answers can be found in any paragraph. Each paragraph can be used more than once. Yes, the key is definitely paraphrasing and paying attention to grammar – the completed sentence must be grammatically correct.

Hello Liz! Thank you for this kind of practice that you provide for us.
In this practice test I got 4/5, however, it took me 15 minues to finish this 5 items test. I always spent more than 8minutes in all your practices. Do you think it’s a bad impression for my actual exam??? Im worried that the 1 hour allowance would not be enough for me.
Thanks in advance!

I am not able to identify the correct answer for 2nd question even after reading so many times. Rest all are correct. I would be really greatful to you if you could please take out some time to assist me?

Did you use grammar to help you? Did you remember that answers come in order? These basic rules will give the answer without any problems.

The first part of the sentence ends in “it” which means the verb following must be third person singular. Following this grammar rule, only “b” or “f” is possible. The answer to this must be found in the passage after the answer to question 1 and before the answer to question 3. This means that it is likely to be at the start of this passage because the passage isn’t long. The answer can be found in the second sentence “The conical vessel is reminiscent of the Apollo command ships that took men to the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s, but bigger and with cutting-edge systems.” and related to “cutting-edge systems”.

IELTS reading is about technique, grammar and vocabulary.
All the best
Liz

Though, I was sure that the answer is in these two lines, but where are they talking about art of technology here? Please let me know where am i lacking? Can you please refer any good website to clear my grammar doubts?

hi Liz’ I have watched all of ur vedoes and most of the tips’which is very helpful.but I am really anxious about my reading understanding and time management.I also mistake spelling in the answer sheet.what should I do to get red of.

Mam,you might notice that i’m a regular user of your blog.i got all of the right because these are easy ,the passage is short as well.i took just above 3 and a half minute to solve this,does it mean i’m good at answering this type of question and another think before answering the questions i tried to predict answers,is it right to do that?Another question if i just practice your given passages ,will it be enough for me to get a good band score?

Sometimes i ask you silly question Mam,i hope it wont bother you at all.

Don’t worry, they are good questions. These practice lessons are only to develop skills for question types, not for speed. It is good to try to predict the answer because it means you are thinking more deeply about the questions. These lessons are not enough to prepare for your IELTS test. You also need to do practice tests from the IELTS Cambridge books. Watch my video about how to prepare for IELTS – it’s on my home page.
All the best
Liz

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Hi, my name is Elizabeth (Liz). I am your IELTS teacher and the author of this website. My aim is to help you understand IELTS and achieve a high score. I am an experienced teacher and completed my IELTS examiner training in 2008.